Mekong dams threaten rare giant fish

This item from WWF speaks for itself.  As you will know I have blogged about the Mekong on a number of occasions.
See for example http://peterfarr.blogspot.com/2009/12/another-new-species-in-greater-mekong.html, ,http://peterfarr.blogspot.com/2009/10/global-warming-in-greater-mekong.html and http://peterfarr.blogspot.com/2009/09/where-have-all-birds-gone-on-mekong-at.html


This mighty river is in dire Peril.  China wants the power, Laos wants the cash.  And the Mekong will decay forever.


Mekong dams threaten rare giant fish: "Wild populations of the iconic Mekong giant catfish will be driven to extinction if hydropower dams planned for the Mekong River go ahead, says a new report by WWF.



The report, River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong, profiles four giant fish living in the Mekong that rank within the top 10 largest freshwater fish on the planet (see list of top 10 at bottom of page).




At half the length of a bus and weighing up to 600kgs, the Mekong River’s giant freshwater stingray (Dasyatis laosensis) is the world’s largest freshwater fish. The critically endangered and culturally fabled Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) ranks third at up to 3 metres in length and 350kgs.



Dam will present unsurmountable barrier for giant fish



“A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish, simply will not be able to swim across a large barrier like a dam to reach its spawning grounds upstream,” said Roger Mollot, Freshwater Biologist for WWF-Laos. “This would lead to the collapse of the wild population of this iconic species.”



Current scientific information suggests the Mekong giant catfish migrate from the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia up the Mekong River to spawn in northern Thailand and Laos. Any dam built on the lower Mekong River mainstream will block this migration route.



The hydropower dam planned on the Mekong River at Sayabouly Province, northern Laos, is a threat to the survival of the wild population of Mekong giant catfish. The Sayabouly Dam is the first lower Mekong River mainstream dam to enter a critical stage of assessment before member countries of the Mekong River Commission advise on whether to approve its construction.



Mekong River home to more giant freshwater fish than any other



“More giant fish live in the Mekong than any other river on Earth,” said Ms Dang Thuy Trang, Mekong River Ecoregion Coordinator for the WWF Greater Mekong Programme. “Currently, the Lower Mekong remains free-flowing, which presents a rare opportunity for the conservation of these species. But the clock is ticking.”



The other Mekong giant fish featured in the report are the 'dog-eating' catfish (Pangasius sanitwongsei), named because it has been caught using dog meat as bait, and the giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), the national fish of Cambodia and largest carp in the world. At 300kgs each, these fish tie for fifth place on the global top ten.



Dams will amplify the impact of climate change on fisheries and agriculture 



However, the impacts of lower Mekong River mainstream dams are not restricted to these Mekong giants, they would also exacerbate the impacts of climate change on the Mekong River Delta, one of the world’s most productive regions for fisheries and agriculture.



Building the Sayabouly Dam would reduce sediment flowing downstream to the Mekong River Delta, increasing the vulnerability of this area to the impacts of climate change like sea level rise.



There are alternatives



WWF supports a delay in the approval of the mainstream dams, including the Sayabouly Dam, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of all the positive and negative impacts of their construction and operation.



To meet immediate energy demands, WWF promotes sustainable hydropower projects on tributaries of the Mekong River, prioritising those that already have hydropower dams developed on them.

The Global Top 10 Giant Freshwater Fish

1. Giant freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya) 600kg (500cm, 240cm disc width) Mekong River Basin
2. Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) 500kg (700cm) Yangtze River Basin
3. Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) 350kg (300cm) Mekong River Basin
4. Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) 306kg (500cm) Widespread in Europe and Asia
5. Giant pangasius (dog-eating catfish) (Pangasius sanitwongsei) 300kg (300cm) Mekong River Basin
6. Giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis) 300kg (300cm) Mekong River Basin
7. Arapaima (pirarucu; paiche) (Arapaima gigas) 200kg (450cm) Amazon River Basin
8. Piraíba (laulau; lechero) (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) 200kg (360cm) Amazon River Basin
9. Nile perch (Lates niloticus) 200kg (200cm) Nile River Basin
10. Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) 137kg (305cm) Mississippi River Basin

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Scots seabird numbers take a dive

Scots seabird numbers take a dive: "The populations of some Scottish seabirds have almost halved in the past decade, according to a new report." (from BBC Scotland)

This is terrible news.  We need to do something NOW!

Porsche 918 Spyder will be made

Porsche 918 Spyder will be made: "Porsche has confirmed the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar concept will be put into production." (from Autoblog)

The news that Porsche will make its 918 Spyder show car from Geneva is welcome news.  All the right ingredients: electric motors, 500BHP petrol engine, gigantic price for a new hypercar for the 21st Century, embracing the now desiderata.  Only one real problem.  It looks like a can opener!

Now that Volkswagen has bought Italdesign - Giugiaro there is some hope that Porsche will no longer make the ugliest cars..........in the World.

FARNBOROUGH: Hawker Beechcraft flies in armed AT-6 testbed

 Flight International is carrying this article on the proposed AT-6 which crosses a T-6 Texan trainer with the mission package of an A-10  "Hog" .  The article sort of suggests that customers of an AT-6 would be getting a cut price Warthog.  Not so!  The heart of the Warthog is the gun, the GAU -8 Avenger.  An antitank gun firing DU 30 mm rounds at over 4,000 rounds per minute, powerful enough to shred the frontal armour of a main battle tank.  The gun, when firing, produces 10,000 lb of reverse thrust!  So you need a solid airframe and lots of thrust to carry it.

So a cut price tank buster...I don't think so!   A super hot COIN bird...maybe.



FARNBOROUGH: Hawker Beechcraft flies in armed AT-6 testbed: "What do you get when you cross a basic trainer with one of the world's most potent ground-attack aircraft? Hawker Beechcraft believes it has the answer,..."

Captain Slow No More: James May hits 259.11 mph in Bugatti Veyron SS

Captain Slow No More: <i>Top Gear</i>'s James May hits 259.11 mph in Bugatti Veyron SS: "
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Videos, Bugatti, UK, Luxury




Last week, we told you that the Top Gear crew was smirking about having some sort of involvement in the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's land speed record. And while it was easy for us to chalk it up as simple Top Gear embellishment (they did take credit for the erupting Icelandic volcano, remember), it appears that the TG team - James May, specifically - had a pretty big part in all of this record-setting madness. Apparently he wasn't the 267.81-mph record-setting driver, but Captain Slow did manage to pilot the new Veyron Super Sport up to an extremely respectable 259.11 mph, and the high-speed tale is recounted in the magazine's August issue, which should be hitting newsstands as you read this.



This isn't May's first experience with the Veyron, of course. We all remember that the Captain did a similar test run in the standard-spec Bug, hitting 253 mph out on Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien high-speed oval. (We have the video available after the jump for those of you who want to re-live the experience.) Now, the one question that remains - is the Super Sport fast enough to finally reconcile that lost race between Hammond and the jet fighter? Hot tips, PS3 and Brandon!

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sports land speed record

[Source: Top Gear]
Continue reading Captain Slow No More: Top Gear's James May hits 259.11 mph in Bugatti Veyron SS

Captain Slow No More: Top Gear's James May hits 259.11 mph in Bugatti Veyron SS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Petrol Heads really don't have a clue what a Typhoon can do.  See also http://peterfarr.blogspot.com/2009/09/typhoon-vs-veyron-contest.html

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458 Challenge debuts at Maranello

Ferrari debuts the 458 Italia Challenge, a sort of souped up version.  And doesn't it look great!

458 Challenge debuts at Maranello: "Maranello – The 458 Challenge has made its world premiere debut in Maranello during the Annual Dealer Meeting, a traditional event that brings together the representatives of Ferrari’s international sales network."

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Richards new UK armed forces head

Richards new UK armed forces head: "Gen Sir David Richards is named as the next Chief of the Defence Staff - the head of the British armed forces."

This comes as no surprise given the amount of trailing that has gone on.  Whilst it is inevitable after the rather unsuccessful  CDS incumbency by Sir Jock Stirrup it doesn't make me happy.

I have no doubt that General Richards is a skilled and courageous soldier whose service in Sierra Leone and his tenure as CGS during the current war in Afghanistan give him peerless credentials for the post and thereby lies the problem. General Richards is a soldier, an armoured warfare man, a boots on the ground military commander.  He is ideal to lead a military engaged in a deadly asymmetric struggle with a dangerous adversary.  But we have larger and far more dangerous potential enemies.  Potential enemies that have nuclear capability, powerful air arms (I would remind everyone that the Taliban has no aircraft) and maritime power projection (the Taliban hasn't any of that either), capabilities that General Richards is hardly instinctively well-disposed towards.  Will he be a powerful voice in Whitehall to advocate a much wider strategic view?  Well we'll soon see with the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review.

So my worry is that we will take our eyes off the ball and throw out the baby with the bathwater (to mix my metaphors).  I am afraid that  it might be no aircraft carriers, no new Typhoons, no Joint Strike Fighters and maybe even no Trident.  Moscow, Tehran and Islamabad are probably much cheered by the appointment.

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2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest ignites the senses

Autoblog is carrying this item about drag racing.  I have blogged before about the paradox of grooving to both Ferrari 250 LMs and AA Fuellers at the same time; an infantile affectation that I have never grown out of.    But the fact remains that AA Fuellers still summon up the adrenaline and set the pulse racing, and it's nothing to do with the blond hair in the foreground!

2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest ignites the senses: "
Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Racing

2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show and Cacklefest - Click above for high-res image gallery

When a 3,000-horsepower drag racing engine fires up, a few things happen. Your head jerks around to see where the deafening noise is coming from, your eyes start to tear up from the burnt and unburnt fuel emanating from the short, upturned headers, the ground rumbles beneath your feet and your chest pulses with the timing of the engine.



Last Saturday night we had the distinct pleasure to experience that scenario several times at the fifth annual Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest in Long Beach, California. Long Beach is a great town, but most of us probably associate it with IndyCar or the Scion celebrity derby that makes up the Long Beach Grand Prix every April. Dragsters, especially the vintage ones assembled in Bixby Knolls might seem a bit out of place at first, but for those with a decent memory or a fondness for obscure racing nostalgia, Long Beach once was the home of Lions Drag Strip. Follow the jump to read more of our day in Bixby Knolls.

Gallery: 2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest

Photos by Frank Filipponio/Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading 2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest ignites the senses

2010 Bixby Knolls Car Show & Cacklefest ignites the senses originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bella Tuscany

We recently spent a week in Tuscany.  We go every year to Borgo di Vagli, our place in the Tuscan hills overlooking the Val di Pierle.  On our side Tuscany: on the other side of the valley Umbria.  What could be more enchanting!
Each year we try to revisit old haunts and go somewhere new.  This year we went back to the beautiful  Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, a Benedictine monastery dating from the Fifteenth Century, and containing Signorelli's wonderful fresco cycle of the life of St Benedict.

New for us was the wonderful hill town of Montepulciano, overlooking on one side the Val di Chiana and on the other the Val d'Orcia.  Below the town walls is one of the most perfect of all small Renaissance churches - Sant'Agnese - built by Antonio da Sangello the Elder.


And of course we went back to Cortona and for the first time visited the exquisite Church of Saint Niccolo.

To see all of my photos of our stay go to Flickr

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New Layout

So to start the ball rolling I have launched a new layout.  I hope you like it.

Bloggers Block

You may wonder where I've got to and I should like to be able to say I am descending the Irrawaddy through Burma but alas it is much more prosaic.
Truth is I'm suffering from a case of bloggers block which seems extraordinary in one so opinionated as I.
But fear not my blogging mojo will return quite soon (I hope) and I shall return to boring the pants off you.